Lie No. 7: I'm Not Worth Anything AND Lie No. 8: I Need To Learn To Love Myself

We're covering two lies today which go hand in hand. The next several lies will be lies that we believe about ourselves. These two lies are very common and manifest themselves in what the world has come to label as "low self-esteem."

We are told that we simply need to learn to love ourselves, when in fact, we love ourselves more than anything else.

"According to the Scripture, the Truth is that we do love ourselves- immensely. When Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, the point is not that we need to learn to love ourselves so that we can love others. Jesus is saying we need to give others the same attention and care we naturally give ourselves.... We need to learn how to deny ourselves, so we can do that which does not come naturally- to truly love God and others. Our malady is not 'low self-esteem,' nor is it how we view ourselves; rather, it is our low view of God. Our problem isn't so much a 'poor self-image' as it is a 'poor God-image.'" p. 70

I must admit that this is by far my weakest point. I desperately crave the approval and acceptance of certain friends and family members. In nearly every situation in life, that high school flashback panic feeling sets in as I worry about whether or not I have said the right things, acted the right way, etc. In my mind, I will forever be the awkward, unpopular, Christian-club-going, gullible-butt-of-the-joke, can-i-copy-your-homework "friend", who is just desperately trying to figure out how to fit in and finding that literally no matter what I do, I am still and always will be the girl that gets these looks like I just walked off of Mars.

And do people really think these things of me? Some of them- probably, yes, especially during the school years; kids really can be so cruel. But most of them- no, not really.

And does it even matter?

It shouldn't.

It really shouldn't.

I know this in my head... but training my heart to believe it is another story.

If you have figured this one out and are able to live your life completely unhindered in any way by what people think of you or by whether or not you are loved and accepted by those around you, please be so gracious as to share your story.

And let us all remember who it is that we really are:

"So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God." Romans 5:11